-LRB- CNN -RRB- Locked inside the gemstone there appears to be a human face .

As the jewel is turned it fragments , appearing to be looking in several different directions at once .

How the disembodied head , which seems to have a life of its own , was spirited into the gem seems to be something of a mystery .

`` It is a sacred thing to create a face , '' says Wallace Chan , 58 , the Chinese artisan jeweler that produced the piece .

`` It 's like a ghost appearing in the gem as you work . The dialogue of gemstone , color and light gives it life .

`` There is a Buddhist saying that every person has many selves , and that inspired me spiritually as I created this work . ''

The work , Now and Always , is a depiction of Horae , the Greek goddess of the seasons . Her dancing was said to move the year from through winter to fall , spring and summer .

Such a multifaceted figure from mythology seemed the perfect inspiration for the jeweler .

Chan 's exceptional artistry has caught the eye of a number of high-profile buyers , including Francois Curiel , chairman of Christie 's in Asia , and Prince Henrik of Denmark .

Carving out his own identity

It 's not the first time that Chan has `` created '' a human face in a jewel . But Now and Always is certainly the finest demonstration of the `` Wallace cut '' , a technique that Chan invented and perfected over decades .

Rather than cutting into the surface of the jewel , shaping it into a geometric form , Chan cuts into it from the back , carving out complex images from inside the gem .

`` Every stroke and cut has to consider movement of the light , '' he says . `` It took a lot of practice because I had to learn how to carve in reverse .

`` When you work from the back of the jewel , right is left , top is bottom and deep becomes shallow . It is like having to drive a car backwards and forwards at the same time . ''

Chan uses a dentist 's drill with a specially adapted blade , which rotates 36,000 times a minute .

When he started using the tool , he quickly realized that the heat generated would damage the gemstone -- a major problem with material that is this expensive .

So he developed a technique of working under cold water .

`` It means I ca n't see clearly when I 'm cutting , '' he says . `` It becomes a very repetitive process . I make one cut , take it out of the water to check it , dry the stone , check it again , and if it 's fine I put it back in the water and make another cut . ''

This is a painstaking process , but for Chan it is also a meditative one .

He puts his `` soul and consciousness into the creation '' , he says , and becomes so absorbed that he `` forgets -LSB- his -RSB- own existence '' .

`` My mind is one with the work , and my physical self is removed from the gemstone , '' he explains .

`` It 's quite emotional , because I 'm within in the inner world of gemstone , focused on how the light enters and interacts with the colors . ''

From rags to riches

Chan 's technique is the culmination of many years of development .

He was born in a poor part of Fuzhou in 1958 , and left school at the age of 13 . In order to support his family , he became an apprentice to a sculptor making Chinese religious iconography .

He went on to study Western sculpture , and in 1974 set up his own workshop . After being commissioned by a Taiwanese art collector to make a jeweled `` stupa '' , or Buddhist reliquary , Chan 's focus shifted from sculpture to jewelery and he began to explore innovative techniques .

He began setting jewels in titanium instead of gold , which allowed him to create `` jewelery sculptures '' that were still light enough to wear . He also experimented with using gems to fix each other in place , rather than metal settings , as well as new methods of cutting jade .

But his dream was to find an entirely new way of working with gemstones . Gradually , he refined his ideas until he arrived at the concept of reverse cutting .

In the Eighties he began to practice , using cheap crystals . But after a year-and-a-half , he realized that the tools he had been using were not equal to the task .

So he visited factories that produced medical instruments , and after six months of research , came up with the idea of modifying a dentist 's drill .

The rest is history . `` It was the only way to satisfy the standard I wanted to achieve , '' he says .

The height of exclusivity

Chan was the first Asian artist to exhibit his work at the prestigious Bienalle des Antiquaires in Paris . In 2012 , he showed `` Great Wall '' , a necklace made of diamond maple leaves with a central jade stone . It sold for $ 73.5 million .

This year , he showed `` Vividity '' , a brooch featuring a deep pink , 64-carat Elbaite tourmaline surrounded by rubies and colored diamonds .

These pieces of jewelry carry such an aura of exclusivity that it is rare to find a Chan piece on the open market . Most of his work is sold directly to collectors , who are loath to sell them on .

When they are put up for sale , they carry hefty price tags . Two years ago , a small pair of Chan earrings sold in Hong Kong for $ 555,000 .

`` Each piece can take me thousands of hours , '' he says .

`` It is like going on a journey each time . ''

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Chinese jewelry designer Wallace Chan places human faces inside precious stones

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He has developed an innovative carving technique over 13 years

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Chan 's pieces have sold for as much as $ 73.5 million